"He has been blinded" since he was in power: Knežević is only now seeing the alleged wrongdoings of his former partners in the ruling majority

Since returning to the opposition benches, the head of the Democratic People's Party (DNP) Milan Knezevic He does not spare words of criticism about his former colleagues in power and their alleged abuses - something he either spoke about rarely and briefly or remained silent about while his party held positions in the system.

Among other things, he called on the prosecution to investigate the process of granting "Aerodrom" concessions, claiming that the Prime Minister Milojko Spajic "pressured" in the proceedings (which are ongoing) in favor of the Korean company "Inchon", said that "the state died" during a break on the show "Načisto" when the fugitive allegedly called Milos Medenica, said that the chief special prosecutor Vladimir Novović protected Oliver Injac "secure prison", revealed alleged details from a government session, announced that at least five ministers should "tremble" if certain recordings surface...

On the eve of leaving the executive branch, Knežević characterized the government as "bloody", and after leaving as "anti-Serbian".

Yesterday, the DNP did not respond to "Vijesti"'s question about why Knežević did not criticize and accuse his former partners while his party was part of the government, but rather "remembered" it after leaving it.

Knežević's party decided to leave the government and the power in the capital at the end of January, after their identity demands were not included in the agenda of the executive session, so they were not even discussed. The party demanded the introduction of the Serbian language as an official language, amending the Law on Montenegrin Citizenship (to introduce dual citizenship with Serbia), and standardizing the tricolor as the "national flag". In addition, they demanded a dialogue on the issue of building a wastewater treatment plant in the Zeta settlement of Botun.

Spajić and the Koreans

A week after leaving the government, Knežević called on the prosecution to investigate everyone in the executive branch whether the granting of a concession for Montenegrin airports to the South Korean company "Incheon International Airport Corporation" was a payment for the state's silence about the possible business connections of the convicted "cryptocurrency king". To Kwon and Spajić.

"Vijesti" wrote in mid-2024 that documents from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) show that Spajić was among the first individuals to invest in Do Kwon's company "Teraform Labs" in April 2018.

The Prime Minister's office recently told the editorial staff that the Government has not yet received the documentation on granting Montenegrin airports under concession, and that Spajić will not comment on Knežević's "flat-rate assessments" until a decision is made in that process.

Knežević then said that he responsibly claims that Spajić "pressured and favored" the South Korean "Inchon" so that the company would receive the concession.

"Unsatisfied with the first vote, Spajić requested a meeting with the leaders of the parliamentary majority, at which he insisted that everyone, in accordance with their authority, exert influence on the members of the commission in order to repeat the vote," claims Knežević.

In the race for the concession of the Tivat and Podgorica airports, “Inchon” ranked first with 96,18 points, while the Luxembourg-American company “Corporación América Airports” (CAAP) came in second with 65,15 points. However, in the first decision in the seven-year-long process, the “Korean” bid was evaluated with 79,7 points, while the Luxembourg-American company was given 85 points.

Coordinator of the Ministry of Transport Filip Radulović (Europe Now Movement) last week sent a request to the State Property Administration for an assessment of the assets of the Airport of Montenegro. If the assessment is below 150 million euros, the Government will decide on giving the airport under concession, but if it is above that figure, MPs will vote on it.

DNP claimed that the reason was the recent dismissal of the president of the Board of Directors of "Aerodrom" Jelena Maraš, close to that party, was her request to conduct a new assessment of the value of the Airport's assets, and that Spajić wants to "directly decide on the fate of the airport and complete the promised concession to the controversial company from South Korea."

Perović: Support with evidence

Political scientist Miloš Perović He told "Vijesti" that Knežević's public appearances, during the period when he was part of the parliamentary majority, were largely characterized by caution towards the moves of the executive branch. He stated that criticism existed, but that it was measured and incorporated into the framework of political responsibility that comes with the position of government.

"By leaving the ruling structure, however, the rhetoric of the DNP leader takes on a new dynamic - sharper, more direct and almost oppositional, but with the added weight of the so-called 'insider' perspective. Knežević now appears as an actor who was part of the system and claims to know what was happening behind closed doors," he underlined.

Perović points out that such a position can be politically powerful because it implies access to information not available to the public, but that it is also a "double-edged sword" - the more serious the claims, the greater the obligation to support them with solid evidence.

"If there is indeed information about pressure, favoritism or cover-ups, their place is not exclusively in television shows and press conferences, but before the competent institutions. Serious accusations require an institutional epilogue - through documentation, testimonies and possible prosecution proceedings. Without that, political speech remains in the realm of insinuation," the interlocutor assessed.

On the other hand, according to Perović, if the accusations are made without evidence, there is a risk that the whole situation will slide into the zone of political spectacle. In that case, he says, the narrative of “insider exposé” could turn into another form of political showdown between former allies, without any real contribution to transparency or accountability.

"Therefore, the real value of Knežević's claims will depend not on the intensity of the rhetoric, but on their verifiability and legal outcome. Otherwise, the public is left between two options: to witness a courageous exposure of the system - or another chapter of the spectacle on the political scene," Perović said.

Fugitives

That leaving power "helped" Knežević to speak out about her alleged misdeeds is also shown by recent cases of fugitives - Lidija Mitrović i Milos Medenica.

Mitrović, a former special prosecutor, sentenced to seven months in prison for abuse of office, failed to report to serve her sentence, and after going on the run, in an open letter to the public on February 8, she claimed that her "persecution was organized and carried out" exclusively by the chief special prosecutor Novović.

She said that Novović had a desire and need for the Ambassador of Montenegro to Belgium, former Minister of Defense and Mayor of Podgorica Olivera Injac to be protected from any proceedings under the jurisdiction of the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT).

Knežević assessed yesterday that Novović protected Injac from "a secure prison", adding that this was "one of the scandals that will further shake Montenegro".

Regarding the case Milos Medenica, son of the former first lady of the Montenegrin judiciary Vesne Medenica, he was recently sentenced in the first instance to 10 years and two months in prison for, among other things, creating a criminal organization, smuggling, unlawful influence...

The police did not find Medenica at his place of residence, and soon footage allegedly showing Medenica began to appear in public, to which the Ministry of Internal Affairs reacted "expressly", announcing that the footage was not authentic, but rather the product of artificial intelligence (AI), and Knežević said at the time that he believed Medenica "was not a bot".

Ahead of last week's broadcast of the show "Načisto" on Television Vijesti, the show's author Petar Komnenic he received a message on the “Signal” app from a person who claimed to be Medenica. After the discussion in the first part of the show, Komnenić made a video call with the “alleged” Medenica, after which he noted that the person “seemed very real.”

Knežević then said that the country "died" during the show's break, and that "Miloš Medenica is not AI, Montenegro is AI."

"The funeral will be in the family circle. PS Milojko, don't cry too much, you can always go to Singapore," Knežević wrote in a post on the "Iks" network.

“Reality Shows in Government”

Speaking about the case of Mirjana Pajković (a former official of the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights) and Dejan Vukšić (a former advisor to the head of state), Knežević assessed that the Government is "turning into a reality show."

"If they continue like this, the government can freely open 'OnlyFans'. At least five ministers should tremble if the footage emerges."

Pajković and Vukšić were questioned by the prosecution, which is determining who distributed the explicit footage allegedly showing the two of them.

Appearing on a television show, Knežević, on the topic of the request Croatia made to Montenegro, said that he asked Spajić "whether we want to ask for anything for Lora (the former camp in Split)", and that Spajić replied "we are the sexual organs of a sheep".